Remove illegal structures
With the Dhanmondi-8 playground finally opened to public after two years, green activists yesterday demanded the government remove all illegal structures from the field.
They also pressed for immediate withdrawal of a case filed by Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club against environmentalists for entering the ground.
The demands were raised at a rally in front of the fine arts faculty of Dhaka University in Shahbagh.
Speaking at the rally, former captain of national cricket team Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu said a certain quarter intentionally filed the case accusing green activists. The Dhaka South City Corporation's (DSCC) decision to open the field to public proves that the accused did not do anything wrong by entering the field. So the case should be withdrawn immediately, he added.
Architect Iqbal Habib, joint secretary of Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon (Bapa), said they will continue the movement until all the illegal structures were removed from the playground.
Bapa General Secretary Abdul Matin said the decision to open the ground to public attests to the fact that Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club was wrong in barring people from entering into the ground.
Amid protests by 50 green organisations and residents of Dhanmondi, the DSCC opened the field to public on Thursday.
The club sued four green activists and 200 unnamed others on April 18, hours after a group of protesters entered the playground ignoring the illegal embargo on commoners.
The accused in the case are former president of Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh (IEB) Mobassher Hossain, Bapa leader Iqbal Habib, architect Salma A Shafi and Kamrunnahar Dana, general secretary of Bangladesh Women's Sports Association.
The High Court on March 15, 2011 had directed the then Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) and Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakkha to remove all illegal structures from the field within 15 days.
Since then, half a dozen government bodies, including the city corporation and public works department, favoured the occupation of the playground by the private club named after Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's slain brother.
Taking full advantage of the support, the club tightened its grip on the ground and started using it as an exclusive private property, with the club's security guards barring people from entering into the field.
Club president Manjur Kader, during a meeting at the playground on April 19, audaciously announced that the field is only for the “elites” and not for any “street urchins”.
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